Sportsmanship and Leaky Diapers

I don't know what on earth happened to my boys in red today but that game...yikes! None of them were playing in top form. Thank goodness for Gerrard, I guess. His cool, calm presence as captain is about the only thing that soothed me.

One thing I noticed is that I think there's a cultural difference concerning conduct at sports games between the UK and America. I was raised watching American football and it's culturally engrained in me that when someone is injured, you respond in a way that we would consider respectful -- we grow quiet as the injured player is being attended to and applaud as they leave the field. During today's game, an Aston Villa player actually fell over the advertising boards and landed in the Kop. He was down (where the cameras couldn't see him) for long enough that I grew worried he might've seriously injured himself -- and yet rather than helping him, the Liverpool supporters just sat there staring at him. One of them TOOK OUT HIS CAMERA and gleefully TOOK A PICTURE. None of them look concerned or seemed worried for his safety. Not cool, fellow Liverpool supporters. Not cool at all, and the guy with the camera? You're a jerkface. I don't care what team someone is playing for, they're still putting their bodies on the line for our entertainment. We owe them the bare minimum of human decency and respect.

I'd think this was limited to Liverpool fans being jerks on one occasion, but I've noticed similar instances in other PL games -- people boo as injured players leave the field, etc etc. Is it a cultural difference or something? Or am I severely deluded and American fans are like this, too? I've never seen it happen in American Football, but then again I don't watch American Football that often so maybe it's a normal thing and I just don't see it. (And if it is: then Americans? YOU CUT IT OUT, TOO.)

Who knows. Either way: RESPECT. SPORTSMANSHIP. CLASSINESS. Get on it, everyone, regardless of Club affiliation or country of origin.

Anyway, somewhat related, I wore to bed last night. I couldn't relax enough to wet in bed (understandable...it was the first time after all) but since it was a pull up, I was able to just go to the toilet and then put it back on. So since it was still dry in the morning, I kept wearing it through the Liverpool game (see? related!) when I was finally able to wet. I wet twice, the first not a lot but the second time quite a bit. I went to check how it looked in the mirror and I was surprised at how much it had bulked up since pre-wetting it was not bulky at ALL. Easily could've been hidden under regular clothes. Anyway, I gave a gentle squeeze of the bulk as I was checking it out.

THIS WAS A BIG MISTAKE.

Apparently it hadn't finished absorbing or whatever but squeezing it made it leak and as you can imagine, that was very not good. Yikes. There's a moment when you have to realize the fact that you're 28 years old getting annoyed because your diaper leaked and that is the moment you have to giggle at yourself because yeah, it's an annoying problem, but YOU'RE WEARING A DIAPER! THAT YOU ACTUALLY WET! Of all the problems in the world, having a leaky diaper in the privacy of your own home on a cozy Saturday morning is hardly the worst. Some diaperless ABs would love to have a leaky diaper.

I'm about to go fill up my bottle and then head to bed, but I really wanted to get that mini-rant about sportsmanship off my chest. I hope your Saturday was great!

Comments

Yeah I agree that sometime the mob mentality of football fans can be abysmal. As you know I go to games all the time and see the horrible way the players are treated. Some are booed off some are clapped off. I think the problem is more social then sport related though. It is ingrained on us from a young age the 'us vs. them' concept. Its tribal and do not think it will ever go away.

Just to put a another spin on it, the amount these 'stars' are paid more than compensates them for a little flack from the other team supporters.

Yeah, I think you're right. I guess I just...wish supporters were humans first, fans second, you know? The only reason people support a club in the first place is that watching them play is entertaining...well, they can't play if they don't have opponents. So as much as I was rooting for the boys in red to win the game, Aston Villa were just as much a part of my entertainment as Liverpool were. I needed them (and the other teams Liverpool plays) or else I'd just be...watching Suarez make pleading faces at the refs constantly and that's no fun (seriously he needs to cut that out). So the way I see it, that Aston Villa player deserved every ounce of my respect not just because we're both human beings and it sucks when a fellow human being gets hurt but also because without him, I wouldn't even have a Liverpool club to support/be entertained by.

I guess I'm getting philosophical here, but really, it just boils down to this: I expect better because I know we can *do* better.

Kate it will never end, I have been going to football matches for over 20 years, and there will always be those that just love to hate the other team, not just the players but fans too. I sit right next to the away supports at Upton Park. I have heard things that would make a hooker blush. It is just part of the game, society in general will have to take a huge leap forward, our brains would need to evolve, before it stops.

Look at the wider world, neighbours starting wars because they cannot agree on religion, how dumb is that.

Relatedly: apparently at last night's Seahawks/49ers game, an injured player was being taken off the field and the other team's supporters threw food at him. So clearly this kind of thing is not just tied into one sport or country. Ugh.